Spatial holeburning effects in the amplified spontaneous emission spectra of the non-lasing supermode in semiconductor laser arrays

The amplified spontaneous emission spectrum of the light field in the nonlasing supermode of two coupled semiconductor lasers is analyzed using linearized Langevin equations. It is shown that the interference between the laser mode and the fluctuating light field in the non-lasing mode causes spatial holeburning. This effect introduces a phase sensitive coupling between the laser field and the fluctuations of the non-lasing mode. For high laser fields, this coupling splits the spectrum of the non-lasing mode into a triplet consisting of two relaxation oscillation sidebands which are in phase with the laser light and a center line at the lasing frequency with a phase shift of ±π/2 relative to the laser light. As the laser intensity is increased close to threshold, the spectrum shows a continuous transition from the single amplified spontaneous emission line at the frequency of the non-lasing mode to the triplet structure. An analytical expression for this transition is derived and typical features are discussed. Typeset using REVTEX ∗permanent address: Institute of Technical Physics, DLR, Pfaffenwaldring 38–40, D–70569 Stuttgart, Germany